The Cardboard Sign

Almost three years ago, I went through a lot of crazy stuff. In the summer of 2009, I got kicked out of my foster home in Lakeville, Massachusetts because I didn’t give up my phone for texting in class. Long story short, I moved to my father’s house after not seeing him for six years. Once I got there, I found out he was living with an old man named Dennis, but everyone called him “Denny”.  He also lived in a very small one room apartment in Malden, MA, with his girlfriend April. I had to sleep on a couch and they didn’t have much food. I had two options; I could either go back to school or get a job. However, my father somehow convinced me to go into the city and pan-handle for money. I would pretend to be homeless by holding a cardboard sign in the middle of the street. Now I’m not going to lie, I was making a lot of cash. One time, a man in a rolls Royce pulled up to me and handed me a hundred dollar bill.  Even though I was making money I was miserable.

After about a month, my father decided I should “save some money” and give him twenty bucks a day.  Little did I know he wasn’t saving it.  It took me three month to realize he was spending it himself.  Even after I found out he wasn’t saving it, he made me start paying him an extra $20 a day.  I was paying Denny rent money in addition to the $40 I was giving to my father. It sucked because I could no longer make much money for myself. Day after day, month after month, I would wake up, go into Boston, and continue to make the money for my father, until it got to the point where I couldn’t even keep any money for myself. Then I found out the worst possible news…. my father was doing drugs. He wasn’t himself anymore and when I confronted him about his drug problem he denied it.  I couldn’t stay at his house any longer. About a year ago, I packed my stuff at 4am and left. I’m living with a friend now and I’m back in school. I haven’t spoken to or seen my father since.

By: John J.